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List of Indian and Madagascan dinosaurs

This is a list of non-avian dinosaurs whose remains have been recovered from the Indian subcontinent or Madagascar. Though widely separated today, the Indian subcontinent and Madagascar were connected throughout much of the Mesozoic and shared similar dinosaur faunas, distinct from what has been found on other modern African and Asian landmasses.

Globe showing union of India and Madacascar, approx 100 Mya

The Indian fossil record of dinosaurs is good, with fossils coming from the entire Mesozoic era – starting with the Triassic period (a geological period that started 251.9 million years ago and continued till 201.3 million years ago), to the Jurassic period (201 million years ago to 145 million years ago) and Cretaceous period (from 145 million years ago to 66 million years ago), when globally all non-avian dinosaurs and 65 per cent of all life became extinct. Madagascar also preserves various unique dinosaurs from the Jurassic and Cretaceous.

Criteria for inclusion

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List of Indian and Madagascan dinosaurs

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Valid genera

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Name Year Formation Location Notes Images
Alwalkeria 1994 Lower Maleri Formation (Late Triassic, Carnian)   India Possessed different types of teeth in its upper jaw  
Archaeodontosaurus 2005 Isalo III Formation (Middle Jurassic, Bajocian to Bathonian)   Madagascar Retained "prosauropod"-like teeth despite its late age  
Barapasaurus 1975 Kota Formation (Early Jurassic, Sinemurian to Pliensbachian)   India Several individuals have been found associated with tree trunks, which may represent the aftermath of a flood[1]  
Brachypodosaurus 1934 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   India Has been suggested to be a thyreophoran, but such an identification is unlikely
Bruhathkayosaurus 1987 Kallamedu Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   India Reportedly exceptionally large but its fossils have been lost.[2] Its bones have been informally speculated to be misidentified tree trunks[3][4][5] but later research suggests at least the tibia is real[6]  
Coeluroides 1933 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   India Potentially synonymous with Ornithomimoides[7]  
Compsosuchus 1933 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   India Has been suggested to be both an abelisaurid[8] and a noasaurid[9]  
Dahalokely 2013 Ambolafotsy Formation (Late Cretaceous, Turonian)   Madagascar Shares features of both abelisaurids and noasaurids  
Dandakosaurus 1982 Kota Formation (Early Jurassic, Pliensbachian to Toarcian)   India Poorly known but large for an early theropod  
Dryptosauroides 1932 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   India Only known from six caudal vertebrae  
Indosaurus 1933 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   India Had a characteristically thickened skull  
Indosuchus 1933 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   India Its skull was flattened and topped by a short crest  
Isisaurus 2003 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   India Unusually proportioned with a short, robust neck and long limbs  
Jainosaurus 1995 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   India Originally named as a species of Antarctosaurus  
Jaklapallisaurus 2011 Upper Maleri Formation (Late Triassic, Norian to Rhaetian)   India May have been closely related to South American sauropodomorphs[10]
Jubbulpuria 1933 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   India Poorly known  
Kotasaurus 1988 Kota Formation (Early Jurassic, Sinemurian to Pliensbachian)   India The neural spines of its vertebrae were massively constructed, a basal trait  
Laevisuchus 1933 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   India Only known from three vertebrae but can confidently be assigned to Noasauridae[11]  
Lametasaurus 1923 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   India Described based on now-lost remains, it is currently seen as a possible chimera including theropod material and osteoderms of uncertain origin
Lamplughsaura 2007 Dharmaram Formation (Early Jurassic, Sinemurian)   India Large and robustly built  
Lapparentosaurus 1986 Isalo III Formation (Middle Jurassic, Bajocian to Bathonian)   Madagascar Relatively fast-growing as evidenced by the preservation of a large amount of fibrolamellar bone[12]  
Majungasaurus 1955 Maevarano Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   Madagascar Bite marks on several specimens have been found that perfectly match the teeth of this genus, suggesting cannibalistic tendencies[13]  
Masiakasaurus 2001 Maevarano Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   Madagascar Possessed procumbent teeth at the tips of its jaws which may indicate a feeding specialization  
Nambalia 2011 Upper Maleri Formation (Late Triassic, Norian to Rhaetian)   India Known from the remains of two individuals
Narindasaurus 2020 Isalo III Formation (Middle Jurassic, Bathonian to Callovian)   Madagascar The oldest known turiasaur  
Ornithomimoides 1932 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   India Two species have been named, both from isolated vertebrae  
Orthogoniosaurus 1931 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   India Only known from a single, fragmentary tooth
Pradhania 2007 Dharmaram Formation (Early Jurassic, Sinemurian)   India Closely related to Massospondylus[14]  
Rahiolisaurus 2010 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   India Remains of multiple growth stages are known  
Rajasaurus 2003 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   India Possessed a single, short horn on its forehead that may have been used for display and head-butting[15]  
Rapetosaurus 2001 Maevarano Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   Madagascar Known from almost the entire skeleton, including the skull  
Tharosaurus 2023 Jaisalmer Formation (Middle Jurassic, Bathonian)   India The oldest dicraeosaurid, diplodocoid, and neosauropod currently known  
Titanosaurus 1877 Lameta Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   India Although only known from a few bones, this genus is the namesake of the Titanosauria and the Titanosauriformes  
Vahiny 2014 Maevarano Formation (Late Cretaceous, Maastrichtian)   Madagascar May have been a rare component of its habitat due to the paucity of its remains

Invalid and potentially valid genera

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  • Dravidosaurus blanfordi: Described as a stegosaur but has been suggested to be a plesiosaur. However, it has been reported that stegosaur remains from its time and place are being described.
  • Rahonavis ostromi: A small feathered maniraptoran. It has been variously suggested to be a dromaeosaurid (possibly an unenlagiine), an avialan, or outside both groups.

Timeline

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This is a timeline of selected dinosaurs from the list above. Time is measured in Ma, megaannum, along the x-axis.

MesozoicTriassicJurassicCretaceousVahinyRapetosaurusRajasaurusRahonavisRahiolisaurusOrthogoniosaurusOrnithomimoidesMajungasaurusLaevisuchusJubbulpuriaJainosaurusIsisaurusIndosuchusIndosaurusDryptosauridesCompsosuchusCoeluroidesBrachypodosaurusBruhathkayosaurusMasiakasaurusDravidosaurusNarindasaurusLapparentosaurusDandakosaurusBarapasaurusKotasaurusArchaeodontosaurusLamplughsauraPradhaniaAlwalkeriaMesozoicTriassicJurassicCretaceous

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Bandyopadhyay, Saswati; David D. Gillette; Sanghamitra Ray; Dhurjati P. Sengupta (2010). "Osteology of Barapasaurus tagorei (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Early Jurassic of India". Palaeontology. 53 (3): 533–569. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2010.00933.x. ISSN 1475-4983.
  2. ^ Galton, Peter M.; Ayyasami, Krishnan (1 July 2017). "Purported latest bone of a plated dinosaur (Ornithischia: Stegosauria), a "dermal plate" from the Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) of southern India". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 285 (1): 91–96. doi:10.1127/njgpa/2017/0671. ISSN 0077-7749.
  3. ^ Holtz, T. (1995), "Re: Biggest predators", discussion group, The Dinosaur Mailing List, 22 September 1995. Accessed 24 February 2019.
  4. ^ Mortimer, M. (2006), "Re:", discussion group, The Dinosaur Mailing List, 17 November 2006. Accessed 24 February 2019.
  5. ^ Brusatte, S. (2001), "Re: Bruhathkayosaurus", discussion group, The Dinosaur Mailing List, 18 June 2001. Accessed 24 February 2019.
  6. ^ Pal, Saurabh; Ayyasami, Krishnan (27 June 2022). "The lost titan of Cauvery". Geology Today. 38 (3): 112–116. doi:10.1111/gto.12390. ISSN 0266-6979. S2CID 250056201.
  7. ^ Wilson. (2012). Small theropod dinosaurs from the Latest Cretaceous of India. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. Program and Abstracts 2012, 194.
  8. ^ F. E. Novas, F. L. Agnolin, and S. Bandyopadhyay, 2004, "Cretaceous theropods from India: a review of specimens described by Huene and Matley (1933)", Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, nuevo serie 6(1): 67-103
  9. ^ New materials of Masiakasaurus knopfleri Sampson, Carrano, and Forster, 2001, and implications for the morphology of the Noasauridae (Theropoda: Ceratosauria) / Matthew T. Carrano, Mark A. Loewen, and Joseph J. W. Sertich.
  10. ^ Rodrigo Temp Müller; Max Cardoso Langer; Sérgio Dias-da-Silva (2018). "An exceptionally preserved association of complete dinosaur skeletons reveals the oldest long-necked sauropodomorphs". Biology Letters. 14 (11): 20180633. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2018.0633. PMC 6283919. PMID 30463923.
  11. ^ Rauhut, Oliver W. M.; Carrano, Matthew T. (2016-04-22). "The theropod dinosaur Elaphrosaurus bambergi Janensch, 1920, from the Late Jurassic of Tendaguru, Tanzania". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 178 (3): 546–610. doi:10.1111/zoj.12425. ISSN 0024-4082.
  12. ^ Rimblot-Baly, F.; de Ricqlès, A.; Zylberberg, L. (1995). "Analyse paléohistologique d'une série de croissance partielle chez Lapparentosaurus madagascariensis (Jurassique Moyen): essai sur la dynamique de croissance d'un dinosaure sauropode". Annales de Paléontologie. 81: 49–86.
  13. ^ Rogers, Raymond R.; Krause, David W.; Curry Rogers, Kristina (2007). "Cannibalism in the Madagascan dinosaur Majungatholus atopus". Nature. 422 (6931): 515–518. Bibcode:2003Natur.422..515R. doi:10.1038/nature01532. PMID 12673249. S2CID 4389583.
  14. ^ Fernando E. Novas; Martin D. Ezcurra; Sankar Chatterjee; T. S. Kutty (2011). "New dinosaur species from the Upper Triassic Upper Maleri and Lower Dharmaram formations of central India". Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 101 (3–4): 333–349. doi:10.1017/S1755691011020093.
  15. ^ Paul, G. S. (2010). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press. pp. 84–86. ISBN 978-0-691-13720-9.
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